Carlena L. Tapella

Shareholder


Sacramento

916.558.6056

Carlena Tapella is a shareholder and serves as Chair of the Firm’s Trusts & Estates practice group.

Her practice encompasses all areas of Trust, Estate, & Conservatorship Litigation and Administration.

Carlena has successfully represented clients in a wide range of trust and estate litigation, including challenging and defending the validity of wills and trusts, seeking and defending fiduciary removal, and pursuing and defending claims of breach of fiduciary duty and elder financial abuse. She has successfully represented clients in contested conservatorship matters, including appointment, administration, and accountings.

In addition to her litigation practice, Carlena regularly counsels her clients in properly navigating the unfamiliar waters of administering trusts and estates after the death of a loved one. She also understands the difficulties of assisting a family member who can no longer manage finances or provide for their personal needs and has represented numerous clients in establishing a conservatorship and advising the client in the proper administration of a conservatorship estate.

Carlena believes in working with clients to attempt to resolve disputes through mediation, but is prepared to aggressively pursue a matter to trial should such attempts prove unsuccessful.

Carlena received her J.D. degree, With Distinction, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she was admitted as a member of the Traynor Society and the Order of the Coif. She also was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in Professional Responsibility and Decedents’ Estates and Trusts. In addition,  Carlena was co-recipient of the Moot Court Award, Outstanding Student Advocate, in Written Competition.

Carlena is a former member of the Trusts and Estates Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM), where she served as Chair of the Incapacity Committee and as Chair of the Conservatorship Legislation Committee. In addition, she is a past President of the Sacramento County Bar Association Probate Section.

She has done presentations on postmortem trust administration, conservatorship basics, the basics of estate administration, financial elder abuse, collection of fees, and managing a trusts and estates law practice. Carlena also was a contributor for The Sacramento Bee’s feature column Ask the Experts.

California Lawyers Association, Trusts and Estates Section
Member

California Lawyers Association, Trusts and Estates Executive Committee
Former Member, Chair, Litigation Committee (2018-2019), Co-Executive Editor, The Quarterly (2018-2019)

California Lawyers Association, Marketing and Communications Committee 
Past Member (2018-2019)

Sacramento County Bar Association, Probate, and Estate Planning Section
Past Chair

San Joaquin County Estate Planning Council
Member

Los Angeles County Bar Association
Member

Awards

Jurisprudence Award in Professional Responsibility and Decedents’ Estates and Trust

Sacramento Magazine’s Top Lawyers List, 2019, 2023

Northern California Super Lawyers, 2019-2020, 2022, 2023

J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law

Webinar: Best Practices for Fiduciaries

On October 28, 2021, the Professional Fiduciary Association’s Sacramento Chapter held a meeting titled “Best Practices for Fiduciaries,” led by Weintraub attorney Mary deLeo. Attorneys Carlena Tapella was a presenter. The presentation covered the best practices for fiduciaries to follow in fulfilling fiduciary obligations as trustees, conservators, and agents. Highlights included…

  • When: Oct 28, 2021
  • Where: Sacramento, CA

SCBA Probate & Estate Planning Section Boot Camp

Weintraub attorneys Carlena Tapella and Kelly Dankbar will be speaking on the topic of “Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees” at the 2019 Probate Litigation Boot Camp sponsored by the Sacramento County Bar Association. Event: 2019 Probate Litigation Boot CampWhen: Tuesday, September 17, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PMWhere: Sacramento County Bar Association,…

  • When: Sep 17, 2019

Weintraub Tobin Elevates Two Attorneys to Shareholder

Weintraub is pleased to announce that Carlena L. Tapella and Shaun Gordon have been elected shareholders in the Firm. Carlena Tapella chairs the Trusts and Estates practice group, where her practice encompasses all areas of trust, estate, and conservatorship litigation and administration. She represents clients in litigation including seeking and…

35 Weintraub Attorneys Named to 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Firm Retains Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 38 of its attorneys have been included on the 2021 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California.  In addition, 4 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 16 percent…

33 Weintraub Tobin Attorneys Named to 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists; Retain Highest Percentage of Sacramento Top 25 List

Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that 33 Weintraub Tobin attorneys have been included on the 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists for outstanding attorneys in Northern California.  In addition, 5 Weintraub Tobin attorneys received special recognition on Northern California and Sacramento “Top” lists. Weintraub attorneys represent 20 percent of…

Carlena L. Tapella Joins Weintraub

Weintraub is pleased to welcome Carlena Tapella to our Trusts and Estates Group, where her practice includes a wide spectrum of trust, estate, and conservatorship litigation and administration.

Don’t Skimp on The Facts – Failure of Fiduciaries to Make Full Disclosure of Matters Set Forth in an Accounting May be Considered Fraud

In the recently published case of Hudson v. Foster, 2021 Cal.App. LEXIS 737, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, Division Five, determined that a former conservatee who discovered that certain transactions in his conservator’s previously approved accounting were falsely reported, was under no obligation to comb through…

Bringing Down the Hammer – California Appellate Court Upholds $1,000 Per Day Sanction For Failure To Timely File Accounting

As trusts and estates litigation counsel, we often have matters where a fiduciary, either as a trustee, conservator, personal representative, or agent under a power of attorney, fails to provide financial information when properly requested, or to provide an accounting if one is required under law.  The result is that…

There’s No Place Like Home – Heightened Evidentiary Standard for Moving Conservatees from Their Personal Residence

Frequently when a conservatorship proceeding is commenced, the proposed conservatee is residing in his or her personal residence. Having a conservatorship established can be a distressing experience for a conservatee who has awareness of the effect of such a proceeding. One primary concern may be whether there is going to…